[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4076]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HARDSHIPS FACED UNDER AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with you one of the 
countless stories my office has received that highlight the hardships 
faced under the Affordable Care Act, primarily by middle-income 
families. This one came in on January 17. Joe writes:
  ``Mr. LaMalfa, I was penalized $850 on my 2015 tax return for the 
transgression of not having been enrolled in the Affordable Care Act.
  ``I simply cannot afford the now $895-per-month premium, double, to 
insure my family of three. I have been forced into what's called self-
pay for our doctor visits.
  ``Cancer biopsies, Z-Packs, dental, and eyeglasses all come out of my 
paycheck . . . it sure would have been nice to have that extra $850 
penalty to pay for all this.''
  He ended his message stating, simply: ``ObamaCare needs to be 
repealed and replaced with free market policies that can be purchased 
across State lines.''
  His testimony highlights one of the primary issues with the ACA: 
fewer choices, increasingly expensive premiums, deductibles that are 
out of sight that are forcing citizens into paying out of pocket for 
services they need.
  Another one of my constituents told me they were ultimately forced to 
choose between paying their mortgage and paying their monthly premium. 
That is not a choice at all, and one that should not have to be made.

                          ____________________